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2017 Recommended Car Seats List: Community Top Rated Picks

Updated November 1, 2016.

When I created my first recommended seats list years ago, things were very different. Gone are the days of shield boosters and combo seats with adjusters that couldn't be accessed when the seat was installed and t-shield convertibles with 20 lb rear facing limits. There are few if any truly bad choices out there these days. When I asked for nominations for this year's list, there were ~50 suggestions! That's too many "recommended" seats to be useful, so I put it to a vote. The seats recommended below were the top vote-getters in each category. I've also listed the other nominees below the winners.

Experts know that the "best" seat is the one that fits your child, fits your vehicle, fits your budget, and will be used properly every single trip. This means there's no single best seat for every situation, and it also means that *your* best seat might not be on this list. That's OK! The list below contains seats which are generally found to be easy to use and to fit a fair variety of children and vehicles well. There are inexpensive and pricey seats on the list. While all seats have to meet the same basic safety standards, some seats may have features which make them more comfortable or easier to use.

Speaking of safety, it's not unusual to hear a parent say they purchased this seat or that one because "it was the safest." While some seats may have features which could improve their performance in a crash, there aren't any reliable, comprehensive crash test comparisons for US and Canadian seats. This means that there's no way to tell if one seat is actually safer than another in the real world. Fortunately, a properly used seat provides excellent protection in most crashes. I hope the below list aids you in your search, and if you have any questions, please ask them on our forums!

Within each category, seats are listed roughly in order of increasing price. Price ratings are based on typical retail prices as of April 8, 2015, with the following key for all seats except boosters:
$: Less than $100
$$: $101-$150
$$$: $151-$200
$$$$: $201-$300
$$$$$: Over $300

Rear Facing Only Seats (rear facing with a carrying handle, also known as "infant seats")

Dedicated Boosters (positions the seatbelt properly)
Since boosters tend to be less expensive than harnessed seats, the price rating has been adjusted as follows:
$: Less than $20
$$: $21-$50
$$$: $51-100
$$$$: $101-150
$$$$$: Over $150

Re: Jenny's Recommended Seats List

Originally Posted by AdventureMom

Hmmm... so where's the Regent?

I didn't include the Regent because it doesn't neatly fit into any of the categories, and it's the only FF-only/harnessed-only seat I routinely recommend. I may add a "niche seat" category to the list and include the Britax Regent, Safeguard Go, Ride Safer Travel Vest and EZOn 86Y.

~Jenny

"When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people." ~Abraham Joshua Hesche

Re: Jenny's Recommended Seats List

Incidentally, Ulrike's old list ( http://www.car-safety.org/carseats.html ) was quite a bit out of date. With the new website updates, Jenny agreed to take over so we could have a basic list for members to reference. Ulrike's list, along with Suvsafety.info, are no longer updated and will eventually disappear completely. Thanks to Jenny and others who gave her input!

Re: Jenny's Recommended Seats List

Are you still planning on adding information on recommended booster seats? There are some moms in my playgroup with kids ready for boosters and I don't know a lot about boosters yet to give good recommendations.

Re: Jenny's Recommended Seats List

Originally Posted by jka1217

Are you still planning on adding information on recommended booster seats? There are some moms in my playgroup with kids ready for boosters and I don't know a lot about boosters yet to give good recommendations.

Jen, when you say ready for boosters do you mean they are at least 5 yo and 40 lbs (tech recommendations) or thier parents say they are ready for a booster? I know you know what is best. Want to make sure they know just because the booster says 3 yo it is still not recommended. A child needs to be able to sit still in the booster and a 3 yo most likely would not.

Lisa - CPSTI
Mom to Tucker, 5 years old, 29.2 lbs, 39.25 inches tall who has a variety of different carseats to ride in.

Re: Jenny's Recommended Seats List

Is this the kind of list that we as techs can hand out? At private or public checks, at car seat safety info sessions for parents groups, and/or to friends/family? I plan to be involved with all of the above.

I reformatted the list into table format for side-by-side comparisons on printed paper. I can post it if anyone's interested! (Obviously I take ZERO credit for the content!!)

Re: Jenny's Recommended Seats List

Originally Posted by pastrygirl

Is this the kind of list that we as techs can hand out? At private or public checks, at car seat safety info sessions for parents groups, and/or to friends/family? I plan to be involved with all of the above.

I reformatted the list into table format for side-by-side comparisons on printed paper. I can post it if anyone's interested! (Obviously I take ZERO credit for the content!!)

I asked Jenny to update Ulrike's original list at Car-Safety.Org as part of our forums, to be used primarily for reference in other posts. We would appreciate that it not be reprinted for distribution.

Of course, you are welcome to produce a similar list of your own. Since the NHTSA started rating seats a few years ago, I see no reason technicians can't rate them and give recommendations, also.

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